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The proposal to include the patient's identity card number in the register is intended to provide a more reliable means of identifying the true identity of the patient to whom the dangerous drugs have been supplied, so as to facilitate investigations and law enforcement actions. It also serves to deter the patients from purposely providing false particulars and therefore offers better protection to doctors. It represents an improvement over the present arrangements whereby only the name and the address of the patient are required to be recorded.
However, the House Committee has expressed concern that there may be emergency situations or exceptional circumstances which make it impracticable for the authorised person to comply with the Regulation through no fault of his own. To address this concern, we propose to add a statutory defence provision to the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Regulation 1996, to the effect that it will be a defence for an authorised person to satisfy the court that he has done everything reasonable and has exercised due diligence in the circumstances to comply with the law. We would also assure Members that the Government does not initiate prosecutions lightly. Not every technical breach of the record-keeping requirements will automatically result in a prosecution. The situation where innocent authorised persons are prosecuted for minor breaches through no fault of their own should not occur.
The motion before Members seeks this Council's approval by resolution of the proposed amendment to the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Regulation 1996. With the proposed amendment, authorised persons are accorded better protection in complying with the record-keeping requirements introduced in the Amendment Regulation.
Mr President, I beg to move.
End
Legal Services Legislation Bill 1996
Following is the speech by the Attorney General, the Hon Jeremy Mathews, in moving the second reading of the Legal Services Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1996 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President,
I move that the Legal Services Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1996 be read a second time.